spacetoday.net: PanAmSat reports first-quarter loss

Posted: Mon, May 3, 2004, 7:06 PM ET (2306 GMT)
Satellite operator PanAmSat reported a loss in its fiscal first quarter Monday because of a one-time charge related to the on-orbit failure of a satellite. The company reported a net loss of $31.9 million on $205.4 million in revenue in the quarter ending March 31, compared to a profit of $30.9 million on $199.8 million in revenue in the same quarter of 2003. The company blamed the loss on a one-time impairment charge of $63.3 million after taxes the company took when its PAS-6 suffered a power anomaly on March 17. The satellite suffered a second power problem on April 1, and since then the company has decided to deactivate the satellite. PAS-6 was an on-orbit spare and had no customers at the time of the anomalies. Buyout firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts agreed last month to buy the 80.5-percent share of PanAmSat owned by News Corporation for $3.55 billion, plus the assumption of $750 million in debt.